Glory

Railway trackman Tsanko Petrov stumbles upon a large stash of cash in bundled notes on the tracks. He faces a moral choice but chooses integrity over easy wealth, deciding to report the find to the authorities rather than pocket the money. The incident sets the plot in motion and draws the attention of powerful figures at the Ministry of Transport.

Tsanko informs the proper authorities about the money, signaling the start of a potential corruption case. He avoids personal gain and becomes a symbol of honesty in a corrupt system. The authorities begin to see an opportunity to leverage his story.

Julia Staykova, a sophisticated PR head at the Ministry, seizes Tsanko's discovery to deflect a brewing corruption scandal. She stage-manages a ceremony to hail Tsanko as a working-class hero, using media to shape public perception rather than addressing the corruption directly.

In a calculated move, Julia removes Tsanko's Slava heirloom watch so the minister can present him with a digital replacement. She loses the watch she took, and later replaces it with a fake, signaling manipulation that will erode trust. Tsanko senses something is off but is dismissed by the PR team.

During the public drill of heroism, Julia's PR crew ridicules Tsanko, turning the ceremony into a spectacle that reveals the hollow nature of the credit given to him. The public sees him as a pawn in a political narrative rather than a genuine hero. The disparity between image and reality grows clearer.

Feeling used, Tsanko goes to the press and exposes the corruption and theft at the ministry, including the minister's complicity. His confession shatters the staged hero narrative and threatens the ministry's reputation. The act sets off a chain of retaliatory moves from Julia.

To salvage the ministry, Julia arranges for Tsanko to be framed for a crime he didn't commit and he is coerced into retracting his accusations in exchange for release from prison. The power dynamic shows the system's willingness to crush dissent. Tsanko's credibility is damaged as the state takes control of the narrative.

After being coerced to withdraw his claims, Tsanko is released from custody but returns to a hostile reception from his co-workers. They resent his role in exposing their crime ring, and his long absence leads to personal consequences, including the implied death of his rabbits.

The next day, Julia reads in the newspaper that a trackman has supposedly committed suicide. Guilt gnaws at her as she contemplates the consequences of her manipulations. She drinks and begins to search for the missing watch that symbolized her control over Tsanko's fate.

Drunk and anxious, Julia rummages through her office for the watch she had used to manipulate Tsanko's status. The missing heirloom becomes a catalyst for her realization that her actions have damaged a good man. The search marks a turning point in her moral reckoning.

The next morning, Julia recovers the missing watch and learns that the dead trackman was not Tsanko. Relief floods her, but the revelation only deepens the emotional toll of her role in the escalating catastrophe. She prepares to confront the consequences.

Driven by a mix of guilt and defiance, Julia drives to Tsanko's home to return the watch personally. She finds Tsanko waiting, severely injured and furious at her for triggering the entire chain of events. The film ends with Tsanko grabbing a wrench while Julia screams, as her husband sits obliviously in the car outside.